U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,170,434, 4,488,848 and 4,601,630 to Kress et al., assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, disclose vehicles that handle heavy loads. Vehicles constructed in accordance with these patents have proven themselves in the field for reliably and efficiently handling the lifting and transporting of straddled loads consisting of steel slabs and billets on the order of 50-150 tons.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,146 to Thomas et al., and also assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, discloses a slab and coil carrier which employs tongs for lifting, supporting and transporting steel slabs and a separate probe assembly, disposed generally between the tongs, which may be moved from an inactive storage position to an operative position for penetrating the open center of large steel coils. The probe is also elevatable with the tong supporting mechanism such that the probe can lift, support and transport the steel coils from place to place.